British summers are likely to regularly see temperatures of above 40C even if humanity manages to limit global warming to 1.5C, the UK’s leading meteorologists have warned.

2020 was the third warmest, fifth wettest and eighth sunniest year on record – the first ever to fall into the top 10 for all three variables.

This summer Oxfordshire has already seen temperatures soar to above 30C in a heatwave.

Data published in the report The State Of The UK Climate 2020 revealed the average winter temperature for last year was 5.3C – 1.6C higher than the 1981 to 2010 average.

That makes December 2019 to February 2020 the fifth warmest winter on record, while the temperature last summer was 0.4C above average at 14.8C.

Early August 2020 saw temperatures hit 34C on six consecutive days, with five 'tropical nights' where the temperature did not drop below 20C, making it one of the most significant heatwaves to affect southern England in the past 60 years, the report’s authors said.

Comparing data from the Central England Temperature series, which dates back to 1772, the research found the early 21st century has been 0.5C to 1C warmer than 1901 to 2000 and 0.5 to 1.5C warmer than 1801 to 1900.

Professor Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, said the world was already seeing extreme heat as a result of warming of 1.1C to 1.2C above pre-industrial levels.

She said: “If you take that up by another 0.3C, these heatwaves are just going to become much more intense – we’re likely to see 40C in the UK although we have never seen those kinds of temperatures before."

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on news@nqo.com or 01865 425 445.